The Compleat Angler, by Izaak Walton.
Wordsworth Classics. Purchased mainly because it was
published during a period of English literature that interests me, the 1600s. “It
is a celebration of the art and spirit of fishing in prose and verse.” –
Wikipedia. Can’t say that I’ve read it.
Ranking: Keeper.
File Code: Classic. English. Softcover.
An Anthology of Elizabethan Prose Fiction, Edited with an
Introduction and Notes by Paul Salzman.
Oxford World’s Classics. “This anthology contains five of the
most important short works of Elizabethan prose fiction: George
Gascoigne's The Adventures of Master F.J., John Lyly's Euphues:
The Anatomy of Wit, Robert Greene's Pandosto: The Triumph of Time,
Thomas Nashe's The Unfortunate Traveller, and Thomas
Deloney's Jack of Newbury. Paul Salzman has modernized the texts
for easier comprehension.” – Amazon. The Elizabethan period also fascinates me,
and a delving into its fiction, as opposed to its poetry or plays, is a whole
other animal revealed to the mind. Can’t say I’ve read it all; it takes a very
specific mood to get into this kind of prose.
Ranking: Keeper.
File Code: ‘Novels’. Elizabethan. Softcover.
Melmoth the Wanderer, by Charles Maturin.
I have been reading about this classic of Gothic Romance
literature for years, and when this sturdy Penguin copy came into my ken, I
bought it. Haven’t read it, but it’s there, in case I want to.
Ranking: Keeper.
File Code: Gothic Romance. Softcover.
Defence of Poesy, Astrophil and Stella and Other Writings, by
Sir Philip Sidney.
Well, you know, the Elizabethan Era, and he was the gentle
perfect knight of the age, a combination of scholarship and chivalry. Died
giving up a hatful of water to another soldier. When I was in college, I did a
paper comparing ‘Defence of Poesy’ with the defense of Fantasy by various authors.
Everyman edition.
Ranking: Keeper.
File Code: Collected Works. Poetry. Softcover
Anglo-Saxon Prose, Translated by Michael Swanton.
“Handed down through generations of storytellers, these
popular tales herald the birth of a national literature in the vernacular. From
stories of saints to land grants and wills, these texts authored by kings,
scribes and saints illuminate Anglo-Saxon Britain. Included in this collection
are King Alfred's translation of seafarers' adventures in the Arctic, herbal
remedies prescribed by Bald's Leechbook, advice to estate managers, and the
love story Apollonius of Tyre, as well the famous Life of Saint Guthlac.” –
Amazon. Though nowhere near a scholar, I am still a dilettante of English
literature and history, and it began with Anglo-Saxon. I dip into books like
these; I am attracted to them and like to have them near. Who knows? I may
apply myself to them some day. Everyman edition.
Ranking: Keeper.
File Code: English Literature. Softcover.
The Life of King Arthur, by Wace and Lawman. Translated and
Introduced by Judith Weiss and Rosamund Allen.
“The Norman writer Wace (c.1100) and the English writer
Lawman gave us the first vernacular chronicles of British "history,"
from the age of Brutus to Cadwallader and the defeat of the Britons. The climax
of this history is the glorious reign of Arthur. Wace eloquently enriched the
Arthurian legend with additional details, including perhaps the Round Table.
Lawman's Brut (c.1200) is a redaction of Wace's work, adding supernatural elements
to fashion a mystic legend from Wace's historical king.” – Amazon. Foundational
and important elements in the Arthurian legend, which is why I bought it.
Everyman Edition.
Ranking: Essential.
File Code: Legendary History. Softcover.
Three Arthurian Romances: Poems from Medieval France.
Translated with an Introduction and Notes by Ross G. Arthur.
“The three romances here collected-Caradoc, The Knight with
the Sword, The Perilous Graveyard- are more likely to praise a knight's ability
to increase his own prestige than to embody lofty values. Replete with
fantastic symbols and erotic adventures, these poems unveil a world of an
unexpectedly modern barbarity, populated by villains and heroes who battle evil
with impure intentions.” – Amazon. Well, they are French. Everyman Edition.
Ranking: Keeper.
File Code: Arthurian. Romances. Softcover.
Hrafnkel’s Saga and Other Stories, Translated by Hermann
Palsson; King Harald’s Saga, by Snorri Sturluson, Translated by Magnus
Magnusson and Herman Palsson; Seven Viking Romances, Translated by Hermann
Palsson and Paul Edwards; Comic Sagas and Tales from Iceland, Edited with an
Introduction and Notes by Vidar Hreinsson [Translations by Martin S. Regal,
John Tucker, Ruth C. Ellison, Frederic Heinemann, George Clark, Robert Kellogg,
Judith Jesch and Anthony Maxwell], (4 Books)
Tales heroic and comic, historic and fictional, all from the
hot-blooded, frosty North. Another of my manias, dipped into but seldom read
thoroughly. Penguin Classics.
Ranking: Keepers.
File Code: Saga. Romance. Softcovers.
The Nibelungenlied, Translated by A. T. Hatto.
“This great German epic poem of murder and revenge recounts
with particular strength and directness the progress of Siegfried’s love for
the peerless Kriemhild, the wedding of Gunther – her brother – and Brunhild,
the quarrel between the two queens, Hagen’s treacherous murder of Siegfried,
and Kriemhild’s eventual triumph.” – From the cover. Penguin.
Ranking: Keeper.
File Code: Epic. German. Softcover.
Early Irish Myths and Sagas, Translated with an Introduction
by Jeffrey Gantz.
“First written down in the eighth century AD, these early
Irish stories depict a far older world - part myth, part legend and part
history. Rich with magic and achingly beautiful, they speak of a land of heroic
battles, intense love and warrior ideals, in which the otherworld is explored
and men mingle freely with the gods. From the vivid adventures of the great
Celtic hero Cu Chulaind, to the stunning 'Exile of the Sons of Uisliu' - a tale
of treachery, honour and romance - these are masterpieces of passion and
vitality, and form the foundation for the Irish literary tradition: a mythic
legacy that was a powerful influence on the work of Yeats, Synge and Joyce.” –
Google Books. Penguin.
Ranking: Keeper.
File Code: Myths and Sagas. Irish. Softcover.
The Lais of Marie De France, Translated with an Introduction
by Glyn S. Burgess and Keith Busby.
“Marie de France (fl. late twelfth century) is the earliest
known French woman poet and her lais - stories in verse based on Breton tales
of chivalry and romance - are among the finest of the genre. Recounting the trials
and tribulations of lovers, the lais inhabit a powerfully realized world where
very real human protagonists act out their lives against fairy-tale elements of
magical beings, potions and beasts. De France takes a subtle and complex view
of courtly love, whether telling the story of the knight who betrays his fairy
mistress or describing the noblewoman who embroiders her sad tale on the shroud
for a nightingale killed by a jealous and suspicious husband.” – Amazon.
Penguin. Of special interest to me because of the imitation ‘lais’ that Tolkien
wrote.
Ranking: Keeper.
File Code: Poetry Translation. Softcover.
The Journey Through Wales and the Description of Wales, by
Gerald of Wales. Translated by Lewis Thorpe.
“Scholar, churchman, diplomat and theologian, Gerald of Wales
was one of the most fascinating figures of the Middle Ages and The Journey
Through Wales describes his eventful tour of the country as a missionary in
1188. In a style reminiscent of a diary, Gerald records the day-to-day events
of the mission, alongside lively accounts of local miracles, folklore and
religious relics such as Saint Patrick's Horn, and eloquent descriptions of
natural scenery that includes the rugged promontory of St David's and the vast
snow-covered panoramas of Snowdonia. The landscape is evoked in further detail
in The Description, which chronicles the everyday lives of the Welsh people
with skill and affection. Witty and gently humorous throughout, these works
provide a unique view into the medieval world.” – Amazon. Of particular
interest to me are the various bits of legend and folklore that creep in.
Penguin.
Ranking: Essential.
File Code: Classic. Wales. Softcover.
Chronicles of the Crusades, by Joinville and Villehardouin.
Translated by M. R. B. Shaw.
That is Jean de Joinville and Geoffroy de Villehardouin. “Originally
composed in Old French, the two chronicles brought together here offer some of
the most vivid and reliable accounts of the Crusades from a Western
perspective. Villehardouin's Conquest of Constantinople,
distinguished by its simplicity and lucidity, recounts the controversial Fourth
Crusade, which descended into an all-out attack on the E astern Christians of
Byzantium. In Life of Saint Louis, Joinville draws on his close
attachment to King Louis IX of France to recall his campaigning in the Holy
Land. Together these narratives comprise a fascinating window on events that,
for all their remoteness, offer startling similarities to our own age.” –
Amazon. Plenty of marvels and miracles, too, as accounts of remote viewing and
the strange poltergeist-like being that served a nobleman. Penguin.
Ranking: Essential.
File Code: Classic. Softcover.
The Decameron, by Giovanni Boccaccio. Translated with an
Introduction by G. H. McWilliam.
“In the summer of 1348, as the Black Death ravages their
city, ten young Florentines take refuge in the countryside. They amuse
themselves by each telling a story a day for the ten days they are destined to
remain there—a hundred stories of love, adventure and surprising twists of
fate. Less preoccupied with abstract concepts of morality or religion than with
earthly values, the tales range from the bawdy Peronella hiding her lover in a
tub to Ser Cepperello, who, despite his unholy effrontery, becomes a Saint. The
result is a towering monument of European literature and a masterpiece of
imaginative narrative.” – Amazon. A significant book indeed, and one I have not
read at all. Penguin.
Ranking: Keeper.
File Code: Tales. Renaissance. Softcover.
Tales of Hoffmann, by E. T. A. Hoffman. Selected and
Translated with an Introduction by R. J. Hollingdale.
“This selection of Hoffmann's finest short stories vividly
demonstrates his intense imagination and preoccupation with the supernatural,
placing him at the forefront of both surrealism and the modern horror genre.
Suspense dominates tales such as Mademoiselle de Scudery, in which an
apprentice goldsmith and a female novelist find themselves caught up in a
series of jewel thefts and murders. In the sinister Sandman, a young man's
sanity is tormented by fears about a mysterious chemist, while in The Choosing
of a Bride a greedy father preys on the weaknesses of his daughter's suitors.
Master of the bizarre, Hoffman creates a sinister and unsettling world
combining love and madness, black humour and bewildering illusion.” – Amazon.
Of interest to me because of its connections to Davies ‘The Lyre of Orpheus’. I
will always regret the copy of ‘Kater Murr’ I saw but did not buy at a San
Antonio Half-Price. Penguin.
Ranking: Keeper.
File Code: Short Stories. Softcover.
Tales from the Thousand and One Nights. Translated with an
Introduction by N. J. Dawood.
“The tales told by Scheherazade over a thousand and one
nights to delay her execution by the vengeful King Shahryar have become among
the most popular in both Eastern and Western literature. From the epic
adventures of 'Aladdin and the Enchanted Lamp' to the farcical 'Young Woman and
her Five Lovers' and the social criticism of 'The Tale of the Hunchback', the
stories depict a fabulous world of all-powerful sorcerers, jinns imprisoned in
bottles and enchanting princesses. But despite their imaginative extravagance,
the Tales are also anchored to everyday life by their bawdiness and realism, providing
a full and intimate record of medieval Eastern world.
Offering unexpurgated translations of the best-loved tales, including such
classics as 'Sindbad the Sailor', Tales from the Thousand and One
Nights - sometimes known as the Arabian Nights - is translated with an
introduction by N.J. Dawood in Penguin Classics. In this selection, Dawood
presents the reader with an unexpurgated translation of the finest and best-known
tales, preserving their spirited narrative style in lively modern English. In his
introduction, he discusses their origins in the East and their differences from
Classical Arabic literature and examines English translations of the tales
since the eighteenth century.” – Amazon. Penguin.
Ranking: Essential.
File Code: Legends. Fairy Tales. Softcover.
An Autobiography, by Anthony Trollope. Edited with an
Introduction and Notes by David Skilton.
Mike had this copy of the life of the prodigious and hard-working
English novelist. It records his hard youth, his dealings with editors, publishers,
and other authors, and his determination and relentless work. I remember
reading it while Mike went in to get a Hunt Brothers pizza for us at Pic-n-Pac.
Penguin.
Ranking: Essential.
File Code: Autobiography. Literature. Softcover.
The Fire of Love, by Richard Rolle. Translated into Modern
English with an introduction by Clifton Wolters.
Meditations by the fourteenth century hermit as he confronted
the Divine Mystery. “Rolle examines the path of spiritual progress with
enthusiasm, faith, and, above all, warmth. Richard Rolle’s personal love of God
and the sweetness and the melody of his writing assure his place among the
foremost pre-Reformation English Mystics.” – From the cover. I remember one of
my proudest moments in Dr. Laird’s Fourteenth Century Prose and Poetry class
was not only translating a verse from this, but actually doing it on the fly
and on my feet (I had been absent a few days), to the awe of my classmates and
wry approval of Dr. Laird.
Ranking: Keeper.
File Code: Medieval Mysticism. Softcover.
Medieval English Lyrics 1200 -1400. Edited with an
Introduction by Thomas G. Duncan.
“This handy Penguin paperback contains 132 medieval lyrics
along with an extensive introduction explaining their historical and cultural
context and explaining the rhyme scheme, scansion and pronunciation of the
poems. Each work benefits from a ‘crib’ or translation of obscure phrases which
is on the same page as the text, and extensive notes on each poem at the back
of the book.” – astrofella.wordpress.com. Oh, this book is so right in my sweet
spot! Maintains the old spelling with notes to explain harder words.
Ranking: Essential.
File Code: Poetry. Medieval. Softcover.
The Complete Plays, by Christopher Marlowe. Edited with an
Introduction by J. B. Stane.
Shakespeare’s great predecessor, with a life as dramatic as
any of his plays. Most notable for me here: his ‘Dr. Faustus’. Penguin.
Ranking: Essential.
File Code: Plays. Softcover.
Three Plays, by John Webster. [The White Devil/The Duchess of
Malfi/The Devil’s Law-Case]. With an Introduction and Notes by David C. Gunby.
“The plays of Jacobean dramatist John Webster are
masterpieces of early seventeenth-century English theatre. "The White
Devil" depicts a dark, sinister world of duplicity, intrigue and murderous
infidelity, while "The Duchess of Malfi" tells the macabre story of a
woman who marries beneath herself and sets in motion a terrible cycle of
violence. Unlike these revenge tragedies, "The Devil's Law-Case"
asserts social order in a plot filled with twists of fate. Written at a time
when the court of King James was rife with instability and corruption,
Webster's disturbing plays reflect this abuse of power and are known for their
horrific vision of humanity - yet they are also some of the most rich,
sophisticated dramas ever composed.” – Amazon. ‘Malfi’ in particular is filled
with grand imagery and language, some that is echoed John Bellairs ‘The House
with a Clock in its Walls’. Not an important fact, but interesting to me.
Ranking: Essential.
File Code: Plays. Softcover.
Three Plays by John Ford. [‘Tis Pity She’s a Whore/The Broken
Heart/Perkin Warbeck]. Edited by Kieth Sturgess.
Not the most engaging playwright to my mind, but from an
interesting period, and only cost a dollar. I think it was the pet turkey on
the cover that really sold it. Penguin.
Ranking: Keeper.
File Code: Plays. Softcover.
The Travels of Sir John Mandeville, Translated with an
Introduction by C. W. R. D. Moseley.
“Ostensibly written by an English knight, the Travels purport
to relate his experiences in the Holy Land, Egypt, India and China. Mandeville
claims to have served in the Great Khan's army, and to have travelled in 'the
lands beyond' - countries populated by dog-headed men, cannibals, Amazons and
Pygmies. Although Marco Polo's slightly earlier narrative ultimately proved
more factually accurate, Mandeville's was widely known, used by Columbus,
Leonardo da Vinci and Martin Frobisher, and inspiring writers as diverse as
Swift, Defoe and Coleridge. This intriguing blend of fact, exaggeration and
absurdity offers both fascinating insight into and subtle criticism of
fourteenth-century conceptions of the world.” – Amazon. Penguin Classic. A must
have for the medieval enthusiast.
Ranking: Essential.
File Code: Legend. Travel. Softcover.
Love Visions, by Geoffrey Chaucer. [The Book of the
Duchess/The House of Fame/The Parliament of Birds/The Legend of Good Women].
Translated with an Introduction by Brian Stone.
“Spanning Chaucer's working life, these four poems build on
the medieval convention of 'love visions' - poems inspired by dreams, woven
into rich allegories about the rituals and emotions of courtly love. In The
Book of the Duchess, the most traditional of the four, the dreamer meets a
widower who has loved and lost the perfect lady, and The House of Fame
describes a dream journey in which the poet meets with classical divinities.
Witty, lively and playful, The Parliament of Birds details an encounter with the
birds of the world in the Garden of Nature as they seek to meet their mates,
while The Legend of Good Women sees Chaucer being censured by the God of Love,
and seeking to make amends, for writing poems that depict unfaithful women.
Together, the four create a marvellously witty, lively and humane self-portrait
of the poet.” – Amazon. Ah, must have Chaucer. And such a good Penguin book.
Ranking: Keeper.
File Code: Poetry. Softcover.
The History of England, by Lord [Thomas Babington] Macaulay.
Edited by Hugh Trevor-Roper.
“One of the greatest figures of his age, Thomas Babington
Macaulay (1800-59) was widely admired throughout his life for his prose,
poetry, political acumen and oratorical skills. Among the most successful and
enthralling histories ever written, his History of England won
instantaneous success following the publication of its first volumes in 1849
and was rapidly translated into most European languages. Beginning with the
Glorious Revolution of 1688 and concluding at the end of the reign of William
III in 1702, it illuminates a time of deep struggle throughout Britain and
Ireland in vivid and compelling prose. But while Macaulay offers a gripping
narrative, and draws on a wide range of sources including historical accounts
and creative literature, his enduring success also owes a great deal to his
astonishing ability to grasp, and explain, the political reality that has
always underpinned social change.” – Amazon. Penguin.
Ranking: Dispensable.
File Code: History. Softcover.
Three Gothic Novels (The Castle of Otranto, by Horace
Walpole; Vathek, by William Beckford; Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley). Edited by
Peter Fairclough with an Introduction by Mario Praz.
“The Gothic novel, which flourished from about 1765 until
1825, revels in the horrible and the supernatural, in suspense and exotic
settings. This volume, with its erudite introduction by Mario Praz, presents
three of the most celebrated Gothic novels: The Castle of Otranto,
published pseudonymously in 1765, is one of the first of the genre and the most
truly Gothic of the three. Vathek (1786), an oriental tale by
an eccentric millionaire, exotically combines Gothic romanticism with the
vivacity of The Arabian Nights and is a narrative tour de force. The story
of Frankenstein (1818) and the monster he created is as
spine-chilling today as it ever was; as in all Gothic novels, horror is the
keynote.” – Amazon. Penguin. Not entirely read, but genre important.
Ranking: Keeper.
File Code: Gothic Novels. Softcover.
Legends of Alexander the Great, Translated and Edited by
Richard Stoneman.
Everyman Edition. ""How can a man become a
god?"" So enquired Alexander the Great of the Brahmin sages of India.
And how did they reply? ""By doing what it is impossible for a man to
do."" And that answer set a keynote for the Conqueror's entire
career, which was characterized throughout by Alexander's attempts to achieve
the unachievable: to scale fresh heights and make the incredible real and
tangible on earth. He wrestled an Indian monster larger than an elephant,
fought ants the size of foxes, and contested bats with human teeth. He became a
Jewish convert, sailed up the Ganges, and visited the Earthly Paradise. Already
a legend in his own lifetime, the glittering figure of Alexander preoccupied European,
Jewish, and Arabic folklore until the 15th century. Richard Stoneman, who is
one of his leading modern interpreters, here presents a range of Greek and
Latin texts which recount the Conqueror's adventures in the East. Essential
reading for students of late antique and medieval literature, these stories are
still unsurpassed for sheer entertainment, opening a window onto a rumbustious
world of legend as rich as that of the Arabian Nights.” – Amazon.
Ranking: Essential.
File Code: Legend. Softcover.
Gargantua and Pantagruel, by Francois Rabelais. Translated by
Sir Thomas Urquhart. With an Introduction by Richard Cooper.
Wordsworth Classics of World Literature Edition. Big fat
softcover edition, marginally better for reading than my Hardback, but so big I
fear damage to the spine.
Ranking: Keeper.
File Code: Classic. Satire. Softcover.
The Golden Ass, by Lucius Apuleius. Translated by William
Adlington. Introduction by James Morwood.
Wordsworth Classics. “The Metamorphoses of Apuleius, which Augustine
of Hippo referred
to as The Golden Ass (Asinus aureus), is the only ancient Roman novel in Latin to survive in its entirety. The protagonist of the
novel is called Lucius. The plot revolves around the protagonist's
curiosity and insatiable desire to see
and practice magic. While trying to perform a spell to transform into a bird,
he is accidentally transformed into an ass. This leads to a long journey, literal and
metaphorical, filled with inset
tales. He finally
finds salvation through the intervention of the
goddess Isis, whose cult he joins.” – Wikipedia.
Important also for the inset story, “Cupid and Psyche”.
Ranking: Essential.
File Code: Novel. Roman. Softcover.
Le Morte Darthur, by Sir Thomas Malory. With an Introduction
by Helen Moore.
Wordsworth Classics. This edition has the original phrasing
of this important version of the Arthurian story, unlike my hardback edition,
which, I think, is adapted.
Ranking: Essential.
File Code: Legend. Softcover.
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